134th Travemünde Week: Lake Constance team narrowly misses Champions League title
Max Gasser
· 25.07.2023
Åländska Segelsällskapet (Åland Yacht Club) is the winner of the Sailing Champions League 2023. The sailors from Finland started the final races of the best four teams in the lead and were ultimately able to hold their own in increasingly difficult conditions off Travemünde. Last year's runners-up with helmsman Markus Rönnberg were able to bring the trophy to Finland for the second time in the history of the competition.
For the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, however, as the reigning champion, it was only enough for eighth place overall. Nevertheless, Germany was strongly represented in the final and provided two of the four starters in the Final Four. The crew from Segel- und Motorboot Club Überlingen started the final series in third place and immediately announced their title ambitions with a victory in the first race. This is because the first team to achieve two race wins in the final is also the overall winner, with the team in first place before the final series starting with a one-victory lead.
Borderline conditions increase the drama
However, the Lake Constance crew led by Michael Zittlau, like the eventual winners, did not manage to end the race day early with another victory in the next race. Instead, it was the Polish team from Gdansk that kept the tension high before the last decisive race by also securing a victory and also leaving the second German crew from the Berlin Yacht Club behind. This meant that three teams had the chance to become the new Champions League winners with a race victory.
The wind conditions did the rest to make the situation even more dramatic. While only two knots of wind were measured a few seconds before the start, just one minute later the wind had picked up to almost eight knots and shifted by around 90 degrees. As the race progressed, there were several wind shifts of this strength and at times gusts of almost 15 knots.
This was another reason why the Finnish team managed to make up for their miserable start by positioning themselves on the right side of the course. The eventual winners crossed the start line around half a minute after the first boat in the field, but then came into the gust with the enormous wind shift first. Coxswain Rönnberg then showed his customary confidence, never relinquishing the lead at any mark and consequently securing the Champions League title for the club from Åland.
German champions determined, junior crew stopped by mast breakage
Other titles were also awarded today. For example, the only unofficial German championship in ORC A/B was awarded to the prominent Intermezzo crew led by Jens Kuphal. Among others, the Ocean Race participants Robert Stanjek and Phillip Kasüske were on board again. While only seven yachts started here, a total of 14 boats started in Group C/D, which meant that an official German champion could also be crowned: Kai Mares and his crew prevailed on the Italia 9.98 "Immac Fram" against Max Habeck's "Aquaplay" (J/112) and Jürgen Klinghardt's "Patent 4" (Italia 9.98).
After just two races, the Wismar junior crew of the "Protest" skippered by Tim Eigendorf had to retire. She was travelling upwind in 21 knots of wind in the first reef when the mast broke. "We were all hanging in the railing to put weight on the side. The gusts were announced from the front. It was '3, 2, 1' and suddenly we had no more pressure. We turned round, but there was no more sail and no more rigging," reported trimmer Felix Schießer. The mast broke twice: directly on deck and at a height of two metres.
In order not to jeopardise the boat, the shrouds and stays were cut and the rig and sails were left to the sea. According to the crew, the mast was new and the boat was in very good condition. "This is so bitter. So much heart and soul went into the project. We want to take the yacht to the World Championships in August," says Schießer. The team has now launched an appeal to procure replacement material: "We're not giving up. The world championship is our dream, we're holding on to it."
In the boat for the second time: Alexander Hagen sails to victory at the 134th Travemünde Week
After five races, the German dragon champion was also crowned today. Philipp Ocker and his crew from Münchner Yacht-Club sailed to gold in the 30-boat field ahead of Jan Woortman (NRV) and Ingo Ehrlicher (BYC/YCE). There were also German winners to celebrate today in the Finn Dinghy and Dyas classes with Fabian Lemmel (SLRV) and Jens Olbrysch/Norbert Schmidt (HSC).
The first winner was crowned the day before, day three of this year's Travemünde Week. With five daily victories in six races, Alexander Hagen from the Lübeck Yacht Club secured first place in the German Open for 12-foot dinghies. The two-time world champion in the Starboat class had only been in the boat once before. "It was nice to compete in a regatta again and to see that it still works," said the 68-year-old. The other two podium places also went to sailors from the Lübeck Yacht Club: Peer Stemmler and Andreas Fuhrhop.
The 134th Travemünde Week runs until 30 July and still has some highlights on the programme. For example, the junior world championship titles in the 49er and 49er FX, the world championship in the J/22 and Formula 18 classes and the European Championship in the O dinghy are still to be awarded.
